So I have this friend…

and she is awesome.  Her name is Heather.  Her husband, Ben (who is kind of awesome too), used to be on the same ship as Shaner before he got out of the Navy.  When they still lived here, Heather and I would stay the nights together when the ship was out to sea so that no one would have to be in either of our houses alone.  I have so many wonderful memories of when she lived here (randomly driving to NC one Saturday to buy Shelby and her dragging Shane out of our old apartment so that he wouldn’t be late for our wedding to name a few) and I miss her terribly!  Another memory of when Heather used to live here is the lazy days we had when the ship was out to sea that we spent watching Rachael Ray and then trying to cook some of the stuff from her show (some successes, some failures….you know)…..

anyway….since Heather knows how I love to cook and we can’t be together to cook anymore, she has started to send me a subscription to the Taste of Home magazine.  Last night I made a delicious recipe from it, so delicious that I had to share with everyone, and make sure that Heather gets credit for the recipe falling into my hands. 

mexican pizza (from Taste of Home Magazine)

8 oz. extra-lean ground beef

1/3 cup minced onion

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup diced grape tomatoes

1/4 cup each grated carrot and diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup frozen or canned corn

1/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed

1 T. fresh cilantro

1 t. chili poweder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup. pizza sauce

thin pizza crust (i used the Pillsbury un-baked kind and pre-baked for 10 minutes)

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425.  In a large skillet, mix beef, onion and garlic. Cook and stir over medium high heat until beef is brown.  Add tomatoes, carrot, green pepper, corn and beans.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and cook for 1 more minute.  Remove entire mixture from heat. 

Prebake crust for 10 minutes.  Add pizza sauce, half of the cheese, and then meat mixture.  Top with remaining cheese.  Place in oven until cheese is melted through.

Here is a picture of our delicious dinner:  Thanks Heather! 

Oh, the best part of this pizza is—one slice is 186 calories.  Compare that to one slice of pizza hut pizza with no toppings that comes to 260 calories.  :)